themountaingoatsfandomcom-20200214-history
Unicorn Tolerance
Unicorn Tolerance is the fifth song on the album Goths. Lyrics Drawn to the dark Covered by the blood when possible Called to the corners To any open crucible Easy to reach Bearing every mark unmissably Want to leave behind some token of what I carried with me Search in the storm drains Sleep in the underpasses Try hard to look hard Behind my blackout sunglasses But I have high unicorn tolerance I have high unicorn tolerance I have high unicorn tolerance I have high unicorn tolerance Swim with real sharks Those who never speak when spoken to Hard limits fade into memory Once broken through Scaling the well Every single day instinctively Feel shame, real shame For what my friends must think of me Dig through the graveyard Rub the bones against my face It gets real nice around the graveyard Once you've acquired the taste And when the clouds do clear away Get a momentary chance to see The thing I've been trying to beat to death The soft creature that I used to be The better animal I used to be Draw where I'm drawn Seldom wonder why, just follow you Never blame the rags that swaddled me For the place the river took me to Long life to the spiders! Safe travels to the crow! Love to the ghosts Who taught me everything I know But I have high unicorn tolerance I have high unicorn tolerance But I have high unicorn tolerance I have high unicorn tolerance Comments by John Darnielle About this Song *"So I was in the fifth grade, right, and our teacher told us that we were to write a report. I love this concept. I'm not sure what that's supposed to prepare you for in life. Writing a report. It's not...it's not...a business report. It's writing about something you feel passionate about that you that want to share with other people. I'm not sure that the rest of the world after elementary school encourages you to actually do that. But...but so I mean...I remember going, 'Aww man, I'm going to write about dragons.' Cause I was a young man who loved dragons. And unicorns. That's right. Magical and mystical things. But I had a lot of experiences as I went along through late childhood and adolescence that sort of...hardened my skin a little...and put a crust around my heart. So when a girlfriend of mine, one of the sweetest people I'd ever known, gave me a coffee cup with a unicorn on it as like the first present that we had exchanged, my eighteen year old self looked at it like, 'I used to like that stuff as a kid.' And immediately, the voice of my younger, truer self convicted me and said, "Have you betrayed the noble unicorn? Who sought only the best for you? Who wronged you in no way? Whose innocence you have turned your back on?' But I had not entirely, and I drank from that coffee cup until it broke. This is called 'Unicorn Tolerance.'" -- 2017-06-01 - The Fillmore - San Francisco, CA *"As I say, Wear Black is a Portland song, and so is this.... I was in the process of trying to bury the good young me who had been under assault for a little while, and when you've been under assault for a while, there's an unfortunate tendency you can gain to join in the spirit of your attackers. I don't quite understand the dynamic, but it happens. You sort of become the person that the people who are against you are telling you you actually are down at your core. It's ugly and hard, but my younger self, my eleven-year-old self had always loved unicorns, and dragons. This is a song called 'Unicorn Tolerance.'" -- 2017-06-02 - The Fillmore - San Francisco, CA Things Referenced in this Song Live Shows this Song Was Played at *2017-05-23 - Cannery Ballroom - Nashville, TN *2017-05-25 - Saturn - Birmingham, AL *2017-05-26 - The Republic - New Orleans, LA *2017-05-27 - White Oak Music Hall - Houston, TX *2017-05-28 - Trees - Dallas, TX *2017-05-31 - The Mayan - Los Angeles, CA *2017-06-01 - The Fillmore - San Francisco, CA *2017-06-02 - The Fillmore - San Francisco, CA *2017-06-04 - Crystal Ballroom - Portland, OR *2017-06-05 - The Showbox - Seattle, WA *2017-06-06 - Tractor Tavern - Seattle, WA *2017-06-23 - Beacon Theatre - New York, NY *2017-06-27 - Blue Hills Bank Pavilion - Boston, MA *2017-09-06 - The Orange Peel - Asheville, NC *2017-09-09 - Headliners - Louisville, KY *2017-09-10 - The Vogue - Indianapolis, IN *2017-09-11 - Sheldon Concert Hall - St. Louis, MO *2017-09-13 - Englert Theatre - Iowa City, IA *2017-09-14 - Madrid Theatre - Kansas City, MO *2017-09-15 - The Waiting Room - Omaha, NE *2017-09-16 - Gothic Theatre - Englewood, CO *2017-10-06 - Brudenell Social Club - Leeds, England *2017-10-08 - Button Factory - Dublin, Ireland *2017-10-09 - Glasgow Art School - Glasgow, Scotland *2017-10-11 - O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire - London, England *2017-10-12 - The Haunt - Brighton, England *2017-10-13 - De Helling - Utrecht, The Netherlands *2017-10-15 - Pumpehuset - Copenhagen, Denmark *2017-10-16 - Debaser Strand - Stockholm, Sweden *2017-10-17 - John Dee - Oslo, Norway *2017-11-06 - 9:30 Club - Washington, D.C. *2017-11-07 - 9:30 Club - Washington, D.C. *2017-11-08 - Calvin Theatre - Northampton, MA *2017-11-10 - White Eagle Hall - Jersey City, NJ *2017-11-11 - Union Transfer - Philadelphia, PA *2017-11-16 - Majestic Theatre - Detroit, MI *2017-11-18 - First Avenue - Minneapolis, MN *2017-12-02 - Mr. Small's - Millvale, PA *2017-12-04 - Harvester Performance Center - Rocky Mount, VA *2017-12-05 - The National - Richmond, VA *2018-04-12 - The Woodward Theater - Cincinnati, OH *2018-04-13 - Beachland Ballroom - Cleveland, OH *2018-04-14 - Phoenix Concert Theatre - Toronto, Ontario *2018-04-15 - L'Astral - Montreal, Quebec *2018-04-17 - Port City Music Hall - Portland, ME *2018-04-20 - Asbury Hall - Buffalo, NY *2018-04-21 - Upstate Concert Hall - Clifton Park, NY *2018-04-22 - Ardmore Music Hall - Ardmore, PA *2018-05-27 - Old Town School of Folk Music - Chicago, IL *2018-05-28 - Old Town School of Folk Music - Chicago, IL *2018-05-29 - Old Town School of Folk Music - Chicago, IL *2018-09-06 - Canton Hall - Dallas, TX *2018-11-15 - Ars Cameralis Festival - Kinoteatr Rialto - Katowice, Poland Videos of this Song * 2017-10-13 - De Helling - Utrecht, The Netherlands Category:Goths songs Category:Video